


Love At First Bite

by ShannaraIsles



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Crush at First Sight, First Meetings, Gen, Gift Fic, Mabari with a tummy ache, Modern AU, Night shift - Freeform, Veterinary Clinic, fluff and nonsense, fun fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-13 00:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16881879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShannaraIsles/pseuds/ShannaraIsles
Summary: A gift for Vanilllya, featuring her OC, Sabrina.In the festive season, in the middle of a night shift, a veterinary surgery gets a decidedly panicked visitor.





	Love At First Bite

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lumidee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumidee/gifts).



Griffon Lives Veterinary Center had a reputation for helping, no matter the time, complexity, or cost. They employed only the most dedicated of staff, and were known in the region as the place to go for any kind of emergency veterinary care. Most of the time, their waiting room was bustling, even in the dead of night. A quiet shift was almost unheard of; a _quiet_ night shift was practically a gift from the gods. And at this time of the year, a quiet shift came with additional duties.

"Just a little bit more to the left ... no ... there! And about an inch higher?"

Perched on a chair, obeying instructions for the hanging of tinsel garlands over the doors, veterinarian Cullen Rutherford glanced over his shoulder at the receptionist giving the orders.

"Would you like me to grow a third arm from my forehead, too?" he suggested.

Leliana ignored the comment. "Just fix it there and come down before you break something important."

"Tell me again why Alistair isn't the one stretching to the ceiling with his ludicrously long arms?" the vet asked a little testily as he thumped down from the chair to survey his decorations.

"Because your backside makes for a better view than his," Leliana told him with a shameless grin.

From behind the reception desk, the nurse in question's voice made itself known.

"I resent that. And I'm busy making Isabela beautiful for the holidays."

Cullen rolled his eyes. "Isabela doesn't _need_ to be beautiful for the holidays, Alistair."

Alistair Theirin came into view, straightening from his crouch with a sleek black cat in his arms. Isabela was the clinic's unofficial mascot, and for some reason, she didn't mind being dressed up with a sparkling red collar and curling silver ram horns for the season so long as it was Alistair who did it.

"I beg to differ," he declared, holding the gorgeous feline up to rub his nose against hers. "Aren't you just the prettiest kitty in the whole world ever? Don't listen to that grumpy Cullen, he's just jealous."

The purring was almost obnoxiously loud, twinned as it was with a pointed glance in Cullen's direction before Isabela flicked her tail and nuzzled into Alistair's jaw. He grinned over at his colleagues.

"Yes, congratulations, the cat knows you are a soft touch."

Despite the resigned annoyance in his tone, Cullen reached out to offer his hand to the beautiful surgery cat. Isabela sniffed his fingers, finally deigning to mark his hand with a firm butt of her face against his palm. As Alistair adjusted to let Isabela lean her head heavily into the vet's hand, Leliana snorted with laughter at all three of them.

"And some people still wonder why we have such loyal clients," she commented, easing into her seat at the desk again. "It couldn't _possibly_ have _anything_ to do with two handsome, professional men, quite clearly wrapped around the paws of a very spoiled cat."

"She's _your_ spoiled cat," Cullen began, trailing off at the sound of squealing brakes and the distinct sound of a car crunching almost gently into another vehicle immediately outside. "What the ...?"

As the trio turned toward the door and the darkness outside, they could just make out a terrible parking attempt and the shadow of a scrambling shape pulling open a door to heave ... something ... out of the back.

"Are they coming here?" Leliana asked, rising to her feet as the shadow staggered closer.

"It would appear so," was Cullen's surprised murmur as the door rattled.

Alistair handed Isabela down onto the reception desk and crossed the foyer in a couple of long strides, pulling open the door to admit a tiny woman in pajamas bent painfully under the weight of a large mabari, staggering into the light with bare feet and haunted eyes.

And time stood still.

Alistair saw the glistening grey eyes, pale and grief-stricken, filled with guilt and fear, and all he wanted was to wipe that terror away. Cullen saw the terror-fueled strength that allowed a woman under five feet to carry a mabari that easily weighed more than two hundred pounds, and couldn't help admiring her even in that state. Leliana saw a client in a state of shock and panic, and her two colleagues staring as though they'd just seen the most delicious festive treat laid out just for them. She rolled her eyes ... and time flowed again.

"He's dying!" the little woman exclaimed in panicked horror. "Please, you _have_ to save him!"

"Oh! Right, yes, that's why we're here -"

Remembering himself, Alistair reached out to take the hefty canine from her arms. As soon as the dog was out of her arms, she whimpered, pressing her hand to the rigid belly worriedly.

"What if he stops breathing?" she demanded, big eyes shiny with unshed tears of utter panic.

Alistair hefted the mabari a little closer into his arms and pinned her with a reassuring smile. "He won't," he promised. "We're good at this."

"What happened?" Cullen asked, pushing open the door to the treatment room so Alistair to get in quickly.

"I-I don't ... I don't know," the woman wailed, hugging herself tightly. "He was fine, and then he went all floppy and his stomach's rigid, and every time he moves, he whines, and ... my brother's going to kill me!"

"Has he eaten today?" was the next question as Alistair laid the whimpering dog down on the table.

The woman bounced on her toes in the doorway, not making eye contact for more than a brief second before she looked away again.

"He had his biscuits, the same stuff he's had every day for the last two years," she insisted. "Oh, and, uh ..." She pulled a ripped bag out of her pajama pants. "He had most of these, too. I killed my brother's dog!"

Alistair took the bag from her as Cullen started to examine the mabari, stethoscope out to listen to the animal's abdomen even as the big canine attempted to weakly lick his face. At the door, Alistair smiled encouragingly at the panicked client.

"Why don't you go back into the waiting room with Leliana?" he suggested. "She'll look after you."

"You are going to save him, right?"

Alistair reached out, squeezing her arm gently. "We'll do everything we can. Just give us a little time."

Leliana wrapped an arm about the little woman's shoulders, gently drawing her away as the door to the treatment room was closed. The redheaded receptionist was used to having to console panicked owners while the vets and assistants worked on the animals, even owners who were as petrified as this one seemed.

Within a matter of minutes, she had determined that their client's name was Sabrina, she was house-sitting for her brother over the festive season, and she was genuinely terrified that she might have actually killed his dog on her second night. She had also learned that Sabrina was incapable of sitting still, or holding eye contact, and hadn't yet realized that she was wearing pajama pants that seemed to be staying up only by the grace of the Maker. The Starkhaven accent _could_ have been soothing, if the copper-haired pacer hadn't been reaching a pitch only audible by dogs every time she started thinking about the mabari she had brought in. Her anxious gaze flickered often to the door behind which the professionals were working. No amount of friendly conversation could snap her out of it. And the _touching_ ... Leliana didn't quite know what to make of the touching. Every now and then, Sabrina would seize her hand, squeeze it for a few seconds, then let go and resume pacing. But everyone was different. Leliana was used to seeing all sorts of reactions from those waiting to hear news of their beloved pet.

But less than half an hour after the door had been close, it opened again. Cullen stepped out, and immediately backed into the wall as Sabrina all but _charged_ him from the waiting area.

"He's dead, isn't it?" she declared, mortified tears threatening in her voice.

Cullen blinked, glancing at Leliana with a slightly cornered expression before pulling himself together.

"Ah, actually ... no, he isn't," he assured the little woman, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. "We would just like to keep him for a little while longer for observation."

Sabrina's eyes widened, hope filling her gaze for the moment that it touched his before whisking away again.

"Really? And he's not going to die, he's better?"

Despite himself, Cullen smiled at this rather sweet response.

"No, he's not going to die," he began, instantly interrupted by a loud squeal from Sabrina.

In fact, not just a squeal - she launched herself at him, throwing her arms around his neck with a delighted laugh. Shocked, his back bounced off the wall again, arms automatically catching her even as he felt the blush starting to make itself known. After all, it wasn't every day a pretty woman threw herself at you.

"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Sabrina was laughing happily, peppering kisses onto his cheek as she dangled from his neck. "You're a miracle worker, a wonderful man, how can I ever repay you? You have totally saved my neck!"

"Oh, ah ... miss ..."

With his face burning, Cullen couldn't really do anything at this point, acutely aware that Leliana was watching this with one of those wide, knowing grins that annoyed him so much. In fact, Isabela was watching with her, the judgmental eyes of the beautiful cat seeming to scold him for not knowing what to do with the delightful pixie of a woman in his arms. One awkward hand patted Sabrina's back as he bent his knees, hoping that the sensation of her feet on the ground would encourage her to remove her arms. Not that he wasn't _enjoying_ the unexpected embrace, but he was supposed to be the professional here.

Sabrina's tight grip loosened as she found her feet, but she seized his hands instead, that dancing gaze of hers flicking back and forth as she beamed up at him.

"What happened to him?" she asked. "Did I do something terrible?"

Momentarily distracted by how tiny her hands were in his, Cullen blinked, forcing himself to remember that he was a vet, not a teenaged boy in the arms of his first crush.

"Ah, no," he told her. "Well, yes. Treats should generally be given in moderation, not an entire bag at once." He smiled as she blushed under his gaze. "But the bag was actually out of date."

"But I checked, it can't have been!"

"It is written in Fereldan," Cullen assured her. "Someone from the Free Marches wouldn't be familiar with the characters used."

"So ... not my fault?" she queried, seeming to need this confirmed.

"No," he promised, chuckling softly. "Not your fault."

He grunted as she threw her arms around his waist, knocking the breath out of him with a squeeze that would have suffocated the dog if she'd been holding him instead. Catching Leliana's eye, he cleared his throat, absentmindedly patting Sabrina's head gingerly.

"Can I see him?" was her next request, and that, at least, was a question he could answer without concern.

"Of course. Alistair is just bedding him down." He untangled her arms from around him, and gestured toward another door. "Just through there. Take your time."

"Thank you!"

As she nudged open the door and slipped out of sight, Cullen caught Leliana smirking at him from behind the reception desk, feeling his ears burning once again. Without a word, he disappeared back into the treatment room. He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of this.

The kennels were warm with the sounds and smells of multiple animals sleeping and resting. Sabrina passed the smaller cages with little creatures inside - gerbils, rats, nugs, cats - peering ahead to where she could see the second of the men who had saved her life kneeling beside one of the larger enclosures. What had the vet said his name was? Oh, Alistair, that was it.

He glanced up as she approached, a warm smile creasing his face.

"Come to make sure he isn't in the gentle hands of death?" he asked in a merry tone, almost immediately backtracking at the anguished guilt that flared in her eyes. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it! He's fine, look!"

He gestured hurriedly to the kennel, where the big mabari lay on his side, his stomach considerably less rigid and swollen than it had been, with the satisfied look of a canine that had been given some truly _effective_ painkillers. The dog raised his head happily as Sabrina dropped down onto her knees, licking her fingers through the bars.

"Thank the Maker," she breathed, giggling with relief. The mabari grunted cheerfully back at her. "You gave me such a scare! We are _not_ telling your daddy about this, okay? You get all better, and I'll give you ice cream or something to keep it on the down low."

"Make it vanilla, dogs love it," Alistair suggested, his face brightening into a grin again as her gaze darted to his.

"Really?" Bright grey eyes flicked back to the dog. "Then vanilla ice cream it is, and don't tell your parents, mister!"

Alistair laughed, enjoying the sight of a tiny woman who had seemed on the verge of a complete mental breakdown when she'd arrived scolding _and_ conspiring with a mabari gloriously out of it on special medication. In fact ... yes, she was _very_ pretty. And all that energy was fantastic.

"So the vet said something about keeping him for a bit? Can I stay with him?"

He blinked out of his absent admiration. "Oh! Yes, we just want to keep an eye on him," he promised her. "He needs to rest, really. You can pick him up in the morning, though. We just want to make sure he's completely purged his system."

"So this is your job, huh?" She smirked in his direction impishly. "Purging innocent dogs who eat too much?"

"Glamorous, isn't it?" he countered with a cheerful grin, rising onto his feet. He offered her his hand. "Come on, let's let him sleep it off. Leliana'll give you our contact details, so if you get worried, just call us. We're here all night!"

"And I can come back and get him in the morning?" Sabrina asked, pulling on his hand as she stood up.

Alistair nodded, leading the way back out to the waiting area and reception, where Leliana took her quickly through the paperwork. Sabrina scribbled her signature to the release forms and payment, setting the pen down with a bright grin. Then she turned, and Leliana got to see her other male colleague turn bright red as the manic pixie-like woman wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you so, so much," she exclaimed happily, bouncing on her toes as he unconsciously bent down so she could kiss his cheek again.

"Oh, it was nothing," he began, interrupted when Cullen snorted with laughter behind him.

"It's a pleasure to see you smiling again," the other man told Sabrina, not quite fast enough to avoid being hugged yet again. Alistair pouted at being abandoned, but swallowed the expression fast when Leliana grinned at him.

"You're both awesome," she declared. "All three of you, absolutely awesome. I'll bring you breakfast in the morning. You like eggs, right? Eggs and toast. Oh, and bacon! Everybody loves bacon. I should go and sleep."

With a grin and a wave, she was gone almost before they had a chance to acknowledge her generous offer to feed them at the end of their night shift. Silence reigned in her wake, three faces turned toward the door - Leliana in amusement, Cullen and Alistair in definite shades of lusty surprise. It was broken only by the sound of Isabela washing herself in ladylike fashion. Then Alistair roused himself, tearing his eyes from the long-closed door to grin over at Cullen.

"Rock-paper-scissors," he suggested. "Best of three gets to ask her out first."

Cullen frowned at him, glancing down at the paperwork. "I think not," was his response, flicking a slightly wicked smirk back at his friend and colleague. "She clearly prefers me."

"Now, hold on a moment -"

"Boys."

Leliana held up her hands, laughing at the playful argument about to erupt. Two sets of eyes turned to her, half-guilty, half-indignant. She sighed, rolling her eyes at the pair of them.

"Make sure the dog lives before you start planning your wedding."


End file.
